Dry Conditions To Kick Off The New Year

Much of the Northwest is dealing with dry conditions to start 2026.  And as USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey explains, it’s not just the Northwest starting the New Year dry.

"For the U.S. Drought Monitor data January 6th, we see drought coverage across the lower 48 states at 44.8%," Rippey said.  "That is up 4 1/2 percentage points from four weeks ago on December 9th.”

Rippey added drought coverage above 40% of the country has taken place since mid-September.  As far as the soil moisture numbers across the PNW: 

• 65% of Washington is considered abnormally dry for this time of year, with portions of the SE corner still dealing with D2, or Severe Drought, conditions.
• 65% of Oregon is on par for where it should be this time of year, but the NE corner, impacting the Blue Mountains, is also under that D2 designation.
• 91% of Idaho is abnormally dry for this time of year, with the driest soil found in the Lewiston area stretching north through the Palouse toward Coeur D’Alene. 

While It's Dry In The Northwest, Things Have Improved

“We do see some differences from region to region," Rippey continued.  "It is worth noting that we did see considerable worsening during the month of December across the central and southern Great Plains, extending eastward all the way into the southeast and the middle Atlantic states, with just a few exceptions that pretty much the entire southeastern quadrant of the country trending drier during December. But on the flip side, we did see improving conditions in much of the western United States, with the caveat that we are still seeing a lack of snowpack at many high elevation sites.”

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